


Seeds of a Forgotten Garden

by Icefire149



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 04:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17995145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icefire149/pseuds/Icefire149
Summary: A collection of shorts telling the story of my magician, Elle, and how she navigated the plague before the events of The Arcana game. The shop belonged to her now. Most mornings she still expected to see her aunt greeting her with a warm smile and new tea mixtures to try. And now, even Asra was gone. Elle couldn’t help but feel silly, but there were days where she sat at the counter, willing new clients to walk through her door. She needed something. Someone.





	Seeds of a Forgotten Garden

Elle had thought by now she would be used to the silence. The shop belonged to her now. Her heart still twisted strangely at that thought. Most mornings she still expected to see her aunt greeting her with a warm smile and new tea mixtures to try. And now, even Asra was gone. 

The memory of their argument still echoed in her mind. He wanted to run. She couldn’t blame him for that. Those who were strong and smart fled before the plague became widespread. Elle never claimed to be either. So why start now?

He begged her to join him. Temptation clawed at her, but she couldn’t bear to leave her home. Who else would gather herbs? Make the teas? Soothe her friends’ pains? Renew the protection charms? Her aunt had served this community for so long, how could Elle abandon them when they needed her most? 

She made her choice and now she must withstand the silence of an empty house. She catered to the needs of her neighborhood, but her days were still filled with so many empty hours. Elle couldn’t help but feel silly, but there were days where she sat at the counter, willing new clients to walk through her door. She needed something. Someone. 

One day Elle was taking inventory of her storage room when she heard the swing of the front door. She grabbed the ribbon tied around her wrist and started tying back her long blue locks as she left the back room for the store front. To her surprise it wasn’t one of her usual customers. 

Elle stopped at the edge of the room to study the stranger for a moment. He was cloaked all in black. Jacket. Pants. Boots. His auburn hair and pale skin stood out in contrast. Her magic lent nothing to her gut feeling about this stranger. He was not a danger to her. 

“What can I do for you today?” she asked. 

The man turned towards her. He looked at her with tired grey eyes. “I was told that you could be of help to me.” He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and laid it on the counter top. 

Elle crossed the room and took her spot across the counter. She studied the paper for a moment. As far as she could tell there was nothing but scribbles listed on it. 

Putting the paper down, she looked back at the man. “When was the last time you slept?”

He looked surprised.

“I can put together a tea that will have you sleeping as if there wasn’t a single worry in your head,” she continued and began walking towards the back rooms.

“Wait. I…I don’t understand. My list?”

She stopped. “Sir, not even magic would help me decipher those scribbles and squiggles.”

“Scribbles and squiggles?” he said raising an eyebrow. He snatched the paper off of the table.

Unfazed by his reaction Elle added, “My only conclusion is that you are so sleep deprived that you are incapable of forming proper letters.”

He leaned an elbow on the counter now. The man seemed amused. “What a marvelous conclusion.”

“Oh, I think so,” Elle quipped. “It’s understandable under the current conditions of the city, but I have a feeling you’re about to enlighten me about your list.”

His lips curled into a smile. “Oh and what gave you that idea? Magic perhaps?”

Elle crossed her arms. “I don’t need magic to figure out what I’m seeing. The look dancing in your eyes is telling me everything I need to know.”

His gaze broke away and he began to laugh. Standing up straight he said, “As much as I would love to question you about everything you’ve gleaned from my eyes, I have work to do.” Holding up the paper he continued, “This is a list of medicinal plants I need for the clinic.”

“Oh,” Elle burst, losing all mirth. She motioned for the man to follow. “It will be faster if you read the list to me.”

He followed, and in no time everything he was searching for was packed and ready to go at the counter. Elle even added several tea mixtures that she swore would help with pain management and relaxing patients. 

“Thank you for your help,” the man said as he watched Elle count the coins he left on the counter. 

She slid the coins into her dress pocket. Looking back at the man she smiled. “I’m glad I could be of some help. Thank you.” She held a hand out.

He shook it. “I never introduced myself, did I?”

“Nope.”

He let go of her hand. “You can call me Doctor Devorak.”

“Well Doctor….I can’t guarantee my inventory, but if you need more supplies you know where to find me.”

He was halfway to the door when Elle spoke again. “Actually, Doctor. Wait here a moment.” And she left for the back room again.

A few minutes later she returned with an herb mixture. Different from the others. He looked at her puzzled. 

“Don’t worry,” she said adding it to the box she put his order in. “This is on the house.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“That one is for you.”

“For me?”

“It’s a tea to drink before bed. It will help you sleep.”

The Doctor was incapable of getting any words out. Elle didn’t miss the shade of pink his cheeks were turning.

“You can’t help your patients if you run yourself into the ground. You’ll get sick.”

“Th-thank you Magician.”

“You can call me Elle.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm not sure how the structure / order/ frequency of these shorts will be. This game has become an obsession for several weeks now. I'm so fond of the game's characters. I couldn't help but come up with my own apprentice and it had me wondering how she would react to the game's situations and what her backstory would have been. So here I am. 
> 
> These shorts will be posted on my tumblr as well: icefire149.tumblr.com  
> look for the tags: the arcana game, my art, my writing, arcana comic
> 
> I've been drawing a lot in my sketchbook and in an effort to improve, I'm trying to draw more of these story ideas. So please check my art out. I currently have one comic up. For the scenes I'm not confident in drawing, I will revert back to my natural state of writing. So I'll be sure to post those pieces simultaneously here and on tumblr. Please, keep an eye on all those tags on my blog to stay updated if you want to continue to follow Elle's story. 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments or my tumblr ask box. Thank you for reading!


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